Maktabi, former host of Inside the Middle East, CNN’s monthly program which focuses on trends and developments in the Arab World, returns to Dubai-based Al Arabiya after two years since her initial departure in 2010.

The journalist, who began her career at Lebanon’s Future TV before first joining Al Arabiya, has reported from various locations in the region, and accounts of pivotal events that have occurred over the past decade, such as the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006.

As she prepares to return to Al Arabiya's screen, Maktabi was full of praise as she recalled her work experience with CNN.

“I had the opportunity to be part of CNN's editorial team when the Arab world was going through historic events. I covered the revolution in Tunisia, protests in Bahrain and Jordan as well as post Mubarak's Egypt. I also covered the revolution in Syria out of CNN's head office in Atlanta since the eruption of the Syrian revolution. Events in Syria remained one of the main stories I worked on and covered out of Lebanon and CNN's Middle East news hub in Abu Dhabi. This is not to mention tens of stories I wrote and reported about the youth, culture and society on CNN's Inside the Middle East. To sum up, it was a rich experience by all means,” she said.

Given the recent wave of political uprisings in the region which caught the attention of media outlets across the world since the beginning of 2011, Maktabi realized the importance of Arab news channels in covering the related events.

“It is a channel that has been at the heart of news during the Arab revolutions thus I am proud and honored to be working with such talented and professional editorial team at Al Arabiya. With the experience I gained at CNN and the deep knowledge that my colleagues at Al Arabiya have, I think we will both offer the Arab audience high quality journalism,” she said.

Are you pleased Rima has returned to Al Arabiya or would you have preferred to see her stay with CNN? Leave us your comments below!